Next week, I will be attending the ordination of my friend, Msgr. Steven Lopes, as a Bishop. I have known Steven since he was in fifth grade at St. Edward School when I was on the faculty there. Later when I was made pastor of St. Edward, I always made sure that he felt at home. Steven has always welcomed me to the Eternal City. He has introduced me to some of the finest Restaurants, and he was the one who made it possible for me to celebrate Mass at the Clementine Altar in St. Peters. Congratulations Bishop Lopes. Ad Multos Annos!!

This is second step on the porch of Lent . Lent is the Porch, Heaven is the House.

The Gospel is from Luke, the story of the sower of the seed. There are a few things to remember about this passage. The Sower is Jesus. The seed is His Word.

The Word has gone out to the ends of the earth. He has cast the seed everywhere. He is a God of extravagant generosity, unreasonable generosity. The test is the kind of ground it falls on.What kind of ground are you?

Here are a few meditations from the Fathers:

“Man casts seed to the ground, when he places a good intention in his heart; and he sleeps, when he already rests in the hope which attends on a good work. But he rises night and day because he advances amidst prosperity and adversity, though he knows it not for he is as yet unable to measure his increase, and yet virtue, once conceived, goes on increasing. “St. Gregory

“At first a simple thought about evil makes it into the mind, and if it is kept in the mind, then a passionate motion arises from it, and if you do not extirpate the passion, then it inclines the mind to agreement, and when this happens, it leads the mind to the commission of a sinful deed. Guard your thoughts, for if you do not sin in thought, you will never sin in deed.”St. Maximos the Confessor

I am taking my Christmas vacation. I will be home to visit family and friends, get a haircut from the regular barber, visit the doctor and the banker, and attend the Walk for Life.

A No-Host Luncheon reception will be held at the Hometown Buffet in NewPark Mall on January 22nd at 11:30. Adults are $9.50 and children are $5.99.

I will be staying at Star of the Sea Parish in San Francisco, and will assist with Masses there during the week. I will be the celebrant at the 11:30am Extraordinary Form, Missa Cantata on Sunday January 24. I will return to Connecticut on January 26. Hope to see you when I am home.

Author

I am a Roman Catholic Priest from California. I spent 13 wonderful years years as a member of the Province of the Pacific in the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. The outline of my life can be traced here.